Find out how popular the last name Guillén is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Guillén.

Guillén, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Guillén surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Guillén in America

Guillén is the 1166th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Guillén surname appeared 30,153 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Guillén.

We can also compare 2010 data for Guillén to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Guillén

The surname Guillen originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the personal name Guillén, which is the Spanish form of the French name Guillaume, meaning "resolute protector" or "tenacious protector." The name can be traced back to the 11th century and is believed to have emerged from the northern Spanish regions of Aragon and Navarra.

In the 13th century, records show the presence of the Guillen family in the city of Valencia, where they held prominent positions in the local government and were involved in trade and commerce. During this time, variations of the spelling, such as Guillén and Guillem, were common.

The Guillen name gained historical significance during the Reconquista, the period of Christian conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. In the 14th century, a knight named Pero Guillen de Aragón fought alongside King Alfonso XI of Castile and León in the Battle of Río Salado in 1340, where the Christian forces achieved a decisive victory over the Marinid Sultanate.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Guillen surname can be found in the "Libro de Repartimiento de Mallorca" (Book of Distribution of Majorca), a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and properties among the conquerors of the Balearic Islands. It mentions several individuals with the surname Guillen who received land grants in Majorca.

Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the Guillen surname. One example is Ferran Guillen Borrassà (1470-1542), a Valencian poet and playwright known for his contributions to the development of Valencian literature. Another is Juan Guillen Ximénez de Urrea (1516-1592), a Spanish nobleman and writer who served as the Viceroy of Aragon.

In the field of art, Juan Guillen Giménez (1865-1958), a Spanish painter and sculptor, gained recognition for his works depicting scenes from everyday life in Valencia. Additionally, Sebastián Guillen Soler (1924-2008), a Spanish artist and illustrator, was renowned for his illustrations in children's books and magazines.

The Guillen surname has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as the village of Guillen in the province of Teruel and the Guillen River in the province of Valencia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Guillén

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Guillén.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Guillén was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Guillén has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Guillén was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Guillén, please contact us.

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